"You alright back there?" Horvath asked.

Brian kept his focus on the buildings slowly passing by. Was he watching his freedom fade away? What an asinine question for Horvath to ask. "Just peachy," he drawled in response.

"I’m sorry I had to let them rough you up a little." The detective sighed to himself. "Debbie’s going to have my ass when she hears about this."

"You wish," Brian retorted, knowing how upset Debbie was over the derelict detective. But he did wonder what the man had meant about LETTING them rough him up. He turned his head and locked eyes with the detective in the rearview mirror. Brian raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"After the shit hit the fan last week with Rickert’s suicide and the video you released, Internal Affairs has been swarming all over the precinct," Horvath explained.

"Which has what to do with me?" Brian prodded impatiently.

"There were rumors of blackmail and a cover up surrounding the Kemp/Rickert case. It probably would’ve died down eventually, especially since Stockwell’s dead, if the interim chief, a close friend of Stockwell since the academy, hadn’t named you the primary suspect after Stockwell turned up dead in his garage like Rickert. It obviously wasn’t a suicide this time, so Chief Jackson used that link as his only justification to go after you. IA already has THEIR primary suspect in custody, but they wanted to let Jackson and his goons shake you down so they hang themselves as accessories to the Kemp/Rickert cover up. Then both cases will be closed before the new mayor’s sworn in and you start your new job." He glanced in the mirror and saw Brian scowl at him. "The irony is there isn’t a connection," he continued nonplussed. "Stockwell’s campaign manager killed him--"

"That weasel?" Brian asked in shock.

The detective nodded. "The rumor about Stockwell being blackmailed turned out to be off base. The investigation into his finances revealed that his manager was embezzling funds. When Stockwell lost, the killer obviously became afraid of being caught because the funds were about to dry up."

Brian quickly squelched his relief over not being seriously accused of murder. He was still being taken downtown so there was a catch somewhere. After weighing the information Horvath had given him, he coolly asked, "And you’re involved in this because…"

Horvath sighed regretfully. "Because of my prior relationship with Debbie and--"

"Which didn’t mean shit to you last week," Brian snapped.

"If it didn’t, you wouldn’t have even gotten into my office at all," the detective shot back. "But because you did, IA has me by the short hairs."

Brian snorted.

"If I don’t cooperate, my last days on the force are shit. If I do, I get early retirement…and maybe a second chance with Debbie."

Brian rolled his eyes. "Emmett’s pointers obviously made an impression."

The detective chuckled ruefully. "No, she did that all on her own."

Despite Brian’s aversion to hetero roma--fucking, he saw a familiar look in the detective’s eye. It was one he saw staring back at him when he looked in the mirror while Justin had been with the fiddler. "She has that affect on people," he conceded. "So, what happens now?"

"Well, originally, I was just supposed to bring you in to get a statement. And we’ll file a complaint against Officer Strader. However, it does complicate things now that you’ve admitted to seeing Stockwell last night. But Justin’s quick thinking with the tapes should clear that up easily enough." The detective pulled around the back of the precinct house to avoid the reporters swarming outside. He parked the car and turned slightly. "He’s a good kid. You’re lucky to have him."

Once again, JT had rescued Rage. "My hero," Brian mumbled to himself.

Horvath handed Brian his cell phone. "Give him a call before we go inside. Tell him you’re okay so he doesn’t worry anymore."

***

A few hours later, Brian had made his statement and he and Melanie were waiting for Horvath to finish reviewing the videos so he could be cleared and released. However, when the detective returned to the interrogation room, his face was grim.

"Brian, how did Justin seem after he had talked to Stockwell last night?"

Brian watched another officer roll a television and VCR unit into the room and set it up before leaving. "I told you, I didn’t know he had talked to him."

"I know," the detective clarified, "I’m asking you to think back to his reaction last night. Even though you didn’t know Stockwell had come back, was Justin acting strangely? Did he seem any different?"

Brian’s eyes narrowed. "No. Why?"

"Isn’t it possible that Justin left the loft while you were in the shower and you wouldn’t have known?"

"What?" Brian snapped incredulously. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Yes or no. Could he have left the loft without you knowing?" the detective asked again.

Brian glared back at him, refusing to answer. Melanie put her hand on his arm. "Brian." She glanced at the VCR, then back at him.

He met her gaze and his eyes pleaded with her to do something, anything, because he felt a cold pit opening in his gut.

But her hands were tied. "Answer the question," she said.

"Yes," he shouted angrily. "Justin could’ve left. But where the hell could he have gone in ten minutes that has anything to with this? You said you got the killer!"

"But we were wrong about the blackmail."

"What?"

Horvath dropped a transcript of Brian’s statement back on the table. "You said Stockwell hadn’t been making any sense when he met you outside of your building."

Brian nodded. "He was pissed off I fucked up his plans. So?"

Horvath put his hands in his pockets and stared down at the other man. "You said Stockwell kept repeating, ‘I already offered you my backers, what more do you want?’"

Brian nodded again. "And I told him his backers weren’t worth shit since he lost. Not that I wanted them anymore anyway. What’s the point?" he huffed.

"I think Stockwell WAS being blackmailed, but he didn’t know by whom. He thought it was you, but it turned out to be Justin."

"WHAT?!" Brian yelled. Melanie put her hand on his arm again, but he shook her off. "Justin sacrificed his future to bring Stockwell down, he lost his internship and was suspended from school. He wouldn’t--"

"I don’t believe it’s about him. It’s about you. It’s always been about you," Horvath told him. "I made a few calls. I know how much sabotaging Stockwell’s election cost YOU. Besides losing your job, you took on a substantial debt to get your commercial aired. You sacrificed your future as well and we both know Justin would never let that happen if he could help it."

"He didn’t LET it happen," Brian replied tersely. "I did it on my own."

Horvath studied him for a moment, then turned to the VCR and hit play. The tape showed Stockwell approaching Brian’s building with a large duffel bag. They watched Stockwell stand in the doorway and they assumed he was talking into the intercom because his back was turned to the camera. Then after a moment, he walked away.

"Wow, Justin’s clearly a criminal mastermind. Book him Dan-O," Brian sneered sarcastically.

Horvath ignored him and removed the tape, inserting another. He pushed play again and stepped back.

This tape was taken from the entrance in the back of the building. Brian watched Justin come into view from the side of the building, just at the edge of the film, and bury the duffel bag in the dumpster.

The detective stopped the tape and watched Brian squirm visibly. "He obviously didn’t realize he was within range of the camera," Horvath surmised. "And he took great pains to get out of the building without being seen, but we still haven’t figured out how. Judging by the time lapse between the two tapes, there are eight minutes unaccounted for. Presumably when he met Stockwell."

"Wait…just wait," Brian muttered, trying to get his mind around everything. "You said at first Stockwell thought I was the blackmailer. Why didn’t he just give me the money then? When did he decide it was Justin? And how did he know Justin would answer the intercom instead of me? This doesn’t make any goddamn sense!"

Horvath slowly nodded, obviously pleased with Brian’s reaction. "It will in a minute." The detective knocked on the door and another officer escorted Justin into the room.

Justin glanced nervously at Horvath and Melanie before looking at his lover. He bit his trembling lower lip as he tore his eyes away from Brian’s confused stare and focused on the floor. "I’m sorry, Brian," he whispered miserably. "I’m so fucking sorry."